I've programmed in C/C++ for many years, with some stints in other languages such as Eiffel, Python. I've also programmed in Fortran, mostly related to light scattering calculations to try to determine more about comets while I was working at LAF (astrophysics department of the university of Leiden). I've worked on various open source projects over the years, such as finding and fixing bugs in kernels (such as in OpenBSD), ditto for various utilities that go with those operating systems. Further I've for example worked on GGI (http://www.ggi-project.org) and started GSI (http://gsi.sourceforge.net/) which in the end wasn't widely adopted (by Linux users, largely due to licencing as they wanted GPL/LGPL; I believe that these licencing issues in general, are one of the reasons the use of Linux by home users hasn't progressed further than it has) despite being years ahead of other sound systems for unix-like operating systems.
The programming I did was almost exclusively using unix like operating systems such as Solaris, Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD. Fortran programming was mostly done on ConvexOS on a Convex mini-supercomputer.
Since the late 1990s I use FreeBSD and not Linux anymore. I have no intention of going back and some of the reasons I have written up here with my response to some truly inane comments from a linux zealot on slashdot.org.
If you need a free-lance programmer for a project on a unix-like OS, or to do website development etc., just send me an email!
My most recent project is developing nearly maintenance free bicycles, made mostly from titanium + stainless steel.
See my bicycle website for more information.
My qualities: I have good ideas (see for example the alphanumeric sort I proposed long ago, I also actually 'invented' what is now known as Google's pagerank system ca. 1987, so long before Google, when I tried to get a better ranking system for Chess/Reversi playing programs (reason for this was a ranking shown in a dutch 'HCC nieuwsbrief' where I thought "That program actually did much better than the other that is ranked higher". I mentioned this to someone I'd been at school with and asked him also "look at this table, what do you think about the rankings of these programs". He, also being quite clever, said precisely what I did "this program could be ranked above that one"...; I didn't know this was the same as Google's method until I wrote a bit on my idea for a ranking system in a comment on slashdot.org, and someone said this was Google's pagerank patent... (I checked the patent and he was right, it was the essence of my idea). I will write more about this with the example that started me on this idea, at a later date), I like minimal but good software and ditto in websites, i.e. I prefer something that works, works well, and works fast, to something that has a lot of functions but is slow and/or buggy. Hence the bicycle website referred to above uses no Java or Flash (also because it's not very well supported under FreeBSD, which is the operating system I use on my home PCs), and uses a simple interface.. I also value service, to support the software I make and with anything else such as with those bicycles that I will sell to discerning buyers who value service, and who can ask for advice on anything such as saddles, lighting etc.
I'm interested in working on interesting programming projects, anything that's challenging really. I'd also like to work on 'green' projects, because I think it's inevitable we need to use the resources we have, in a better manner. This is also a reason behind my bicycle project, to counter the throw-away culture. I don't like people buying bikes that rust away after a few years, then buy another. Just buy a single good one! They can last decades (even with standard steel frames (*)), and in case of Titanium/Stainless steel, they will remain as good as new, and almost new looking too..
(*) aluminium and carbon fiber frames are much more fragile. With aluminium, galvanic corrosion or just corrosion at any part that's not protected properly by an anodizing layer or paint, is a big problem. Aluminium handlebars can even be eaten away by the glue in bar tape...
I also like science, esp. physics (I've got a degree from the University of Leiden in mathematical physics), and esp. foundations of physics, string theory and axiomatic characterisations of systems etc.
| To email me go to the email page |
Last modified: Mon Mar 5 07:06:14 CET 2012